Digg/Buzz It Up

POLITICO 44

The drought parching California’s Central Valley, the fertile agricultural region often referred to as the nation’s breadbasket, has imperiled two House Democrats who typically cruise to reelection by wide margins.

Between the region’s devastating water crisis, its stunningly high rates of unemployment and some of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation, the Valley is gripped by deep political and economic unrest — and Democratic Reps. Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa are running for reelection in the middle of it.

Until now, Cardoza and Costa, both Blue Dogs, had mastered the region’s moderate to conservative politics. Republicans failed to field a challenger against Cardoza in 2008, while Costa, after winning a competitive open-seat race in 2004, ran unopposed for a second term.

But the regional economic upheaval, fueled in part by the drought, has left them unusually vulnerable to challenge amid GOP charges that the Democratic Party’s close ties with environmental groups have exacerbated the situation.

“The shortage of water in California has created a lot of instability,” said Vic Fazio, a former California congressman and onetime chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “There’s just a lot of anger and frustration, and the easiest place to point fingers is the environmental community, and Democrats — because they are in power — are getting a lot of the duress.”

While water politics have long played a role in California elections, the current political environment — and the state’s recent economic struggles — has made the situation especially combustible.

The farm industry is up in arms about a recent court order to shut off a water pump into the San Joaquin Valley that environmentalists said was hazardous to fish and wildlife. Industry heads loudly complain that powerful California politicians like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. George Miller have not fought aggressively enough against the decision and are siding with environmental groups.

“The Democrats are in charge, and there are a lot of dead trees and orchards,” said Tony Quinn, a longtime observer of California’s political scene and an editor of the nonpartisan California Target Book. “While their seats are safe on paper, there is a serious political roiling going on that could seriously impact the campaigns against them.”

In some farming quarters, there is a belief that Costa and Cardoza are reluctant to take up the Valley’s cause with Pelosi or with a national party that counts environmentalists as a key constituency.

“The guys on the Westside feel Costa hasn’t done enough,” said Kole Upton, who sits on the board of Families Protecting the Valley, an organization that is focused on the water crisis. “They feel like he should have stood up to Pelosi.”

The Families Protecting the Valley website has turned into something of a bulletin board for complaining about Costa, a third-term congressman who spent several decades in the California Legislature.

Readers' Comments (16)

Bwahahahaahahaha - you losers can't hide behind your "Blue Dog" bull ****!!!!! America has seen that ALL Democraps are a bunch of DISGUSTING VERMIN that ruin everything they touch - look at what Dems have done to their libturd cities and their states - Democrap strongholds are now festering ghost towns - bye, bye Demwit voters - bye, bye Democraps!

It doesn't help that they sold there vote, yes, for Obamacare. Surprisingly, we're(SJ Valley) is now getting 25% more H20 after they said that they would vote yes! Tell me they aren't playing politics with are lives.

It doesn't help that they sold there vote, yes, for Obamacare. Surprisingly, we're(SJ Valley) is now getting 25% more H20 after they said that they would vote yes! Tell me they aren't playing politics with are lives.

Sounds to me like the residents affected need to find someone credible, fiscally responsive to mount a strong campaign to oust these two clowns. Of course they traded their votes, nothing is a coincidence in Washington, the land of make believe.

Cardoza and Costa are the liars! If there is anyone who doesnt think that these two disgraceful individuals did not trade "a little bit of water" for their yes votes on the horrific healthcare disaster, you need to get your head examined or need to stop doing drugs. You two are gutless cowards like the rest of your so called "blue dog" wimps.

I dunno. I live in the central valley. Most Ca voters are moronic Dumbocraps who just blindly rubber stamp the one with the "D" next to their name. The fiscal, water, education, prison, housing, and high unemployment in Ca are a result of 30+ years of Democrap leadership.

Washington is a larger copy of California. We have a 28 BILLION dollar deficit in Ca. This will pale in comparison of the Obama deficit - the largest ever recorded in the history of the U.S.

This issue has been going on for a long time with the people of this valley pleading for the government to release some of the water back to them.. Yes, they probably did sell their votes. But the bigger question is where have these Democrats been for the last few years as their people's farms and families were being destroyed. I heard about it some time ago from a conservative talk show hosting a woman who was heading up the environmental initiative. I remember asking myself, how can this be happening in America.? How could people's lives matter so little? Why couldn't they find a solution and compromise that helped both the farmers and the fishermen? I know the environment is important. Apparently, much more important than people to CA politicians and the courts.

And these are the people that just took over health care and all student loans?. I know this is a complex issue but how could the progressives stand by and let lives be destroyed? Is it any wonder that CA has spiraled downward.? And where was the governor?. I really don't know his position on this. Where did the all powerful Pelosi stand on this? Could she and should she have reached out to these two representatives earlier? Why didn't she? Its a little too coincidental don't you think? And we are suppose to think they care about jobs?. Destroying their own people and agriculture and then asking for a bailout! Really?!

This speaks to the values and wisdom of the CA leadership as far as I am concerned.. Am I missing something here?

Democratic party is hijacked by extremists. When farmers have no water to grow their crops, Pelosi favors the environmentalists and say a tiny fish which is not even native in this part, is more important and will not allow water for irrigation. Obama who says he is going to double export has no brain to understand that Californian farmers need water to grow crops to export, leave alone doubling export. Obama who champion undocumented workers, does not understand why so many farm workers are standing in line for hand-outs from govt. Obama has three choices, 1.use executive order and release water for California farmers 2.Declare that 'tiny fish' is more important than unemployed farm people OR 3.Import Oranges and Fruits and vegetables from CHINA and destroy California Agriculture.

Leave it to politico to leave out the fact that california got 127 percent of normal rainfall and that the water shortage is due to the sacred minnow fish that gets federal protection over 40,000 folks ability to work and raise there families ... I know politico is the official online paper of the DNC but really come on now and use some real facts from time to time to switch it up a bit !

Stop whining! We live on a planet. It has limited resources! You people just want to take and take. Whether it be wars you refuse to pay for with taxes, or destroying the ecosystem so megafarms and keep making their big fat profits (that they avoid taxes on) it doesn't matter. You want government services? Then pay for them! Don't like the government? Elect someone else. That is what we did after 8 terrible years of Bush and all his cronies (you remember the wall of ethical misbehavior from the Republicans don' t you - not that Republicans have a lock on bad behaviour).

You are on a right wing echo-chamber blog. Don't think because all the nut jobs post how they are going to vote every Democrat out of office that will actually happen. On Huffington Post (the left wing echo chamber) they are saying the same thing about all the troglodyte "party of No" Republicans.

More likely, as happens in every non-Presidential election, the party in power will lose some seats. Hopefully we can get some real action to solve climate change by then.

But your run of big government with no taxes (the Bush Doctrine) is over. The grownups are in charge and yes, we will have to pay taxes, for Bush's wars, for all this financial aid to the unemployed, for health care costs - just like real people who join common cause for the greater good.

Why is that so hard for Republicans to understand? Seems like the Republicans just want to take and take and take and never mind paying the bill.

While water politics have long played a role in California elections, the current political environment — and the state’s recent economic struggles — has made the situation especially combustible.

TeamPOLITICO: Mar. 24, 2010 - 5:15 AM EST

“There are those who want to make this a political thing, but really it’s an issues problem,” said Cardoza. “I think it’s a policy problem rather than a political problem.”

The CA politicians MADE this a political issue. They never should have withheld water to the people in favor of a species of fish that was not even endangered until March of 2009. The environmentalists convinced the CA Fish & Game to make them an endangered species in order to justify their crazy request to shut off water to the people in the Central Valley. The fish were clogging the plumbing, getting drawn into the water pumps and the engineers cannot figure out a solution. So they decided to go with the easiest way and just shut off the pumps. What morons!